Fulfilling a long-standing commitment despite his personal change of
heart regarding the Roswell UFO case, "Roswell Declaration" author Kent Jeffrey
sent more than 20,000 signed Roswell Declaration petitions to President Clinton in
mid-July. Included in the package was a cover letter dated July 8, 1997.

The letter, addressed to the president, reads in part:

"This letter is accompanied by over 20,000 signed copies of a
statement known as the Roswell Declaration. The Declaration requests a mandated policy of
openness on the part of the U.S. government with respect to any knowledge it might possess
or acquire about UFOs or extraterrestrial intelligence. The signatories to this
mainstream, grassroots effort, the International Roswell Initiative, include hundreds of
scientists and engineers, three retired air force generals, and two former U.S.
astronauts."

"While the initiative was originally inspired by the 1947 Roswell
event," Jeffrey wrote, "extensive research has established that the Roswell
incident itself did not involve an extraterrestrial craft."

This opinion shocked many in the UFO research community earlier this
year when Jeffrey first announced his revised conclusions about the Roswell case. Major
Roswell researchers, including Stanton Friedman, Kevin Randle and Donald Schmitt, as well
as witnesses such as Dr. Jesse A. Marcel Jr., have all criticized Jeffrey's change of
heart as ill-founded and illogical. Jeffrey spelled out his views in a long article in the
June issue of MUFON Journal, following which Stanton Friedman, among others, blasted
Jeffrey's "investigation by proclamation," "political naivete," and
complete lack of understanding of government secrecy. Regardless of Jeffrey's current view
of Roswell, however, he seems to remain committed to the idea of openness on UFO
information.

His letter to the president continues: "Whether it is justified or
not, there is a widespread lack of confidence in the government's forthrightness with
regard to the UFO phenomenon, even among those who do not believe a UFO crashed at Roswell
in 1947... An executive order guaranteeing that information as profound and important as
that relating to other intelligent life in the universe would never be withheld by the
U.S. government would surely be considered a positive move by those on all sides of the
issue. Whether or not any such information exists, such a mandate would undoubtedly do
much to alleviate the American peoples' long-term distrust and suspicion of their
government concerning this subject." As of August 16, 1997, CNI News has not learned
of any government or presidential response to the Roswell Declaration initiative.

(The following is retyped - the original was on International Roswell
Initiative letterhead.)

July 8, 1997

President Bill Clinton

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Clinton,

This letter is accompanied by over 20,000 signed copies of a statement
known as the Roswell Declaration. The Declaration requests a mandated policy of openness
on the part of the U.S. government with respect to any knowledge it might possess or
acquire about UFOs or extraterrestrial intelligence.

The signatories to this mainstream, grassroots effort, the
International Roswell Initiative, include hundreds of scientists and engineers, three
retired air force generals, and two former U.S. astronauts.

While the initiative was originally inspired by the 1947 Roswell event,
extensive research has established that the Roswell incident itself did not involve an
extraterrestrial craft. Whether it is justified or not, there is a widespread lack of
confidence in the government's forthrightness with regard to the UFO phenomenon, even
among those who do not believe a UFO crashed at Roswell in 1947.

For example, a late-1996 Gallup poll revealed that 71 percent of the
American public believes that "the U.S. government knows more about UFOs than it is
telling." An executive order guaranteeing that information as profound and important
as that relating to other intelligent life in the universe would never be withheld by the
U.S. government would surely be considered a positive move by those on all sides of the
issue.

Whether or not any such information exists, such a mandate would
undoubtedly do much to alleviate the American peoples' long-term distrust and suspicion of
their government concerning this subject.